Drs. Jeremy Winell and Andrew
Roth have provided a nice
overview of the diagnosis and
treatment of depression in cancer patients.
The views they express are both
widely accepted and applicable to other
serious medical illnesses as well.
They remind us of the challenge of
making a valid diagnosis of depression
in cancer patients, since all of the
somatic symptoms of depression (eg,
anorexia, fatigue, insomnia) may in
some patients represent symptoms of
cancer or cancer treatment rather than
depression.